A Senate hearing has put the spotlight on the Muslim Brotherhood’s actions in America. A top Republican said the threat goes far beyond terrorism overseas, and witnesses testified that the group is prepared to spend decades pursuing their campaign of influence in the U.S.
On Capitol Hill on Wednesday, Sen. Ted Cruz said the Muslim Brotherhood is a threat inside the United States.
“The Brotherhood’s work in America is, quote, ‘A grand jihad in eliminating and destroying Western civilization from within and sabotaging its miserable house by their hands and the hands of the believers,'” Cruz said.
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The Texas Republican chaired a Senate Judiciary subcommittee hearing on Wednesday titled, “Hidden in Plain Sight: Confronting the Muslim Brotherhood Network in America.”
“The Muslim Brotherhood spawned Hamas, influenced the ideology of al-Qaeda, and gave rise to multiple terrorist organizations,” said Cruz.
The group’s influence extends beyond terrorism.
A report by the Institute for the Study of Global Antisemitism and Policy alleges the Muslim Brotherhood has spent decades building influence inside America.
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According to their findings, the group has:
- 100-year plan to influence U.S. institutions;
- Strategy to infiltrate the U.S. government, schools, and civil rights groups;
- Network that maintains ties to foreign governments, including Qatar;
- Shared Islamist ideological goals with extremist groups such as ISIS and al-Qaeda.
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Witnesses appearing before the committee highlighted what they described as the dangers posed by the Brotherhood.
“The individuals within this network do not have a deadline,” said Lara Burns of George Washington University. “If it takes them a hundred years to achieve this goal, they will steadily pursue it.”
The hearing comes as the Trump administration steps up its crackdown on individuals and organizations tied to the Muslim Brotherhood or Hamas.
In January, the administration designated the Egyptian and Lebanese branches of the Muslim Brotherhood as terrorist organizations.
Last month, the Treasury Department sanctioned a senior Muslim Brotherhood official and three others over alleged Hamas financing.
“The Muslim Brotherhood told us who they are,” argued Arielle Klepach with the National Jewish Advocacy Center. “They told us that they wanted to infiltrate American universities, media outlets, and research centers, and that is exactly what they’ve done. They teach our kids that 9/11 was our fault. They legitimize terrorism as justified resistance, and they abuse our legal process so that those who seek to expose them for who they really are, Muslims included, are silenced.”
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U.S. officials have also accused the group of using charities in America to raise money for Hamas while moving funds through underground financial networks.
“Founded in Egypt by Hassan Al-Banna in 1928, from its very beginning the Muslim Brotherhood operated as a clandestine organization, which engages in the creation of public front groups, cultivated agents of influence, sought control over religious institutions, engaged in acts of political subversion, and created deniable sub-organizations devoted to terrorism, all in pursuit of its ultimate goal, the overthrow of governments and the reestablishment of a worldwide caliphate operating under Islamic law,” said Kyle Shideler with the Center for Security Policy.
Cruz was the only senator in attendance. Democrats boycotted the hearing, calling it a political “creepshow” and accusing Republicans of unfairly targeting Muslim Americans.
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